After 26 years of publishing the Road Race Management Directory as a printed publication, the 2009 edition will be separated into online and print editions published at separate times.

The Athlete, Agent, and Event sections will be published online on March 1, 2009 on the Road Race Management Web site. These sections will be free to users and supported by advertisers who will receive wider exposure for their ads since there will be no charge for the content. The information will be available in the form of a searchable, web-based database that will be continually updated throughout the year.

Athlete listings will contain basic athlete information including name, date of birth, nationality, and contact information. The bios of athletes will be available as links directly to bios supplied by the athletes, agents, or other organizations such as the IAAF, USATF, etc. As the 2009 racing season progresses, athlete performances at major events will be posted constantly as updates to the athlete's listing.

The Events section will contain links to races with prize money ($600 minimum), races with an expo, or races with more than 3,000 runners.

"I am tremendously excited about the new format," said Road Race Management Editor and Publisher Phil Stewart. "This ensures that the time-sensitive information in these sections will always be up-to-date. Having the online information available for free will greatly expand the reach, utility and need for the publication."

The Businesses and Organizations sections of the book, including the list of athlete agents and contacts for more than 400 major events, will be published in a print edition called The Running Industry Resource Directory on September 1, 2009. The print edition, which serves as a handy desktop and portable reference book, will retail for $60, a substantial reduction in price from the 2008 printed book.

Agents, athletes and events interesting in being listed in the 2009 online sections should contact Phil Stewart immediately for details. All of the listings are free.

Advertisers interested in reaching the greatly expanded number of online users are urged to contact the Road Race Management Office.

The Road Race Management Directory is the industry's ultimate resource for contacts in the running industry. Since 1982, more than 25,000 athlete contacts and bios, more than 25,000 business listings and more than 12,000 event listings have been published in the Directory.